Video: Hooker gives update on cut, praises Poirier

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Dan Hooker showed off his war wound shortly after his potential FOTY with Dustin Poirier.

Last night at UFC on ESPN 12 Dan Hooker put on quite the show opposite fellow headliner Dustin Poirier. The back and forth battle will surely rank high in the ‘best of’ lists come the end of the year.

Though Hooker put in a valiant effort, he was second best on the night — losing a unanimous five round decision to the ‘Diamond’. Poirier, a former interim lightweight champion, was consistently a step ahead of the New Zealander and sharper in the striking exchanges; as evidenced by a wicked cut that was opened up over Hooker’s right eye.

Shortly after the contest Hooker took to social media to show off the gnarly cut he suffered in the fight. He also shared some of his thoughts on the night’s action.

“I got checked out at the hospital. Everything’s all good—just a couple stitches on the eye,” said ‘The Hangman’ (ht MMA Fighting). “But that’s the game we play. No worries, it’s just a small setback and I’ll be back.”

In an accompanying caption on Instagram, Hooker wrote, “Credit to Poirier better man on the night, no regrets, no excuses.”

Last night’s loss snapped a three fight winning streak for Hooker. During that stretch he beat Paul Felder by split decision (in his first UFC main event), beat Al Iaquinta by unanimous decision and knocked out James Vick.

Hooker’s run of form had seen him reach number 5 in the UFC lightweight rankings, one spot below former champion Conor McGregor.

Before last night Poirier occupied the 3rd spot on that list, with only Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje ahead of him. For Poirier, the win over Hooker, was just the kind of rebound he needed after being bested by UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov last time out.

Prior to that loss at UFC 242, Poirier was on a six fight unbeaten run with wins over Max Holloway, Eddie Alvarez and Justin Gaethje.